Today we’d like to introduce you to Hallie And Thai.
Hi Hallie and Thai, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Starting out we were looking for different outlets to express our artistic nature along with a way to try to supplement our income for fun. As we ventured forward, we started attending local festivals and markets. We found that our product made people smile. We love bringing the imagination back into the forefront of people’s lives with our tiny, hidden world of Mo’Relia. Our day jobs were a bit unforgiving at the time, so this was a welcomed change of pace and really motivated us to continue our journey as Cafe Mushroom. As of writing today Cafe Mushroom is officially an LLC, yay!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Running a small business always has it’s challenges. We struggled in the beginning to have a work-life balance. As both of us have a day job as well, there have been many long nights spent art making and preparing for a market. We absolutely love what we do with Cafe Mushroom so our passion for the job is well worth a few long nights. Money for a start up is also another typical struggle we faced starting out. Small businesses’ often take investment to get off the ground and ours was no different! Again, well worth it for getting to bring the imagination back into people’s lives we touch.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Our work consists of mushroom themed art and illustrations set within the tiny hidden world of ‘Morelia’! We mostly make our signature “Mushies” which are mushroom people, about 6 inches tall and each with their own personality and story. These figurines each come with a birth certificate. We call our market outings ‘adoption days’ as our customers tell us they feel like our work is gaining a new forever home with them! Most of our art is polymer clay and digital illustrations.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I use Procreate for all of our digital illustrations. I have been using Procreate for years and adore the app. I highly recommend this one for any iPad users who want to create digital art. Another good resource we use is Eventeny. This site is how we find most of our markets and festivals to attend! For anyone who wants to start going to events, this is a really great resource.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cafemushroom.store
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cafe_mushroom/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cafemushroom
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cafemushroom?_t=ZT-8tt58PuQFK7&_r=1
